Indonesian Hospitality! Blog 22

Does this situation sound familiar to you? You are in a rush to get somewhere important and a confused looking person stops you to ask you directions. It takes all your willpower to not sound annoyed when trying to figure out what way they need to go. People here are different. Indonesian hospitality is incredible. Let’s turn back the time to when I was backpacking Indonesia in 2015 and 2016.

Yogyakarta, Java

After climbing the Merapi volcano in November 2015 my new friends and I were looking for the next adventure.

Mt. Merapi is Indonesia’s most active volcano. It has erupted regularly since 1548. The 2,930 m high volcano has been closed to climbers for the most part since 2016. I am lucky I was given the chance to climb it. The most recent eruptions of Mt. Merapi were on 9 November 2020.

David, Fedor, Manuel, Erika, Chloe, Ivan and I were ready to leave Yogyakarta. I had met all of them a week before in this small surfer village on the south coast of Java. Each of us was keen on another hike. Our options were Bromo volcano or Ijen volcano.

Laura, the owner of Laura’s Backpacker 523 Hostel, helped us with our decision. She gave us the contact of a guy called Rahmat’s. He owns a homestay in Banyuwangi where backpackers gather to share stories about recent trips. Rahmat’s guests do not need to worry about costs. Staying at his place is completely free.

He is a legend. He helped us organize scooters to get to Ijen volcano. Also, he asked his friend to drop me off at Banyuwangi Port the day after the hike so that I could catch a ferry to Bali.

Bali

The story continues… I made it to Bali! My LonelyPlanet had told me that there were busses from the ferry port in Gilimanuk to Denpasar. From Denpasar, I would be able to catch busses to any destination in Bali.

The bus was slow and was steaming hot. There was a lack of AC and windows. When I arrived in Denpasar, all connecting buses had already left. Instead of dealing with the usual “taxi, taxi, taxi” terrace chants, I decided to find a supermarket down the road. Supermarkets in Indonesia often open 24 hours and have Wi-Fi.

My tight travel budget did not allow a 38-minute taxi ride. The new plan was to stay for the night and take a bus the next day.

Here I was stranded at a Circle K in Denpasar. A bag of crisps later, I got into a conversation with a guy from Java. Arbi was in Bali for his new business and was also running on a budget. He told me about the place he was staying. He promised me that it was super clean and cheap.

Once again, a stranger helped me without benefiting from it himself.

(The toilet was a squat toilet and the shower was a bucket shower BUT it was spotlessly clean! And cheap)

We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.

Ronald Reagan

Lombok

I have used the CouchSurfing app twice. Both occasions were a little odd but awesome. The first time was in Cebu in the Philippines. My friend Seb and I stayed at the house of a German lady for Christmas 2015. She felt alone so she let couchsurfers stay at her place for free.

The second time was in Mataram Lombok, Indonesia. Lindsay, a girl I had met a month before in Myanmar and I stayed at a student home in the heart of the city.

Our host Novan left us his dorm room for the night. He stayed overnight with a friend. We proposed to switch to a hotel so that he could sleep in his room, but he insisted. He loved the company of travellers from around the world.

The student home was a bit dodgy. We noticed a strong smell of marihuana in the corridors. In Indonesia, the possession of marihuana can result in a sentence of up to 12 years.

But Novan was great. He played us many songs on the guitar and asked us questions about our travels. He also showed us a great place for dinner.

Kelimutu, Flores

Kelimutu is a volcano in central Flores island in Indonesia. It is famous for its three volcanic crater lakes that differ in colour.

Lindsay and I stayed overnight in a small bamboo hut in Moni, a small town at the foot of the volcano. It was Indonesian Independence Day. Robert, the owner of the two bamboo huts, prepared a wonderful celebration dinner and served us some of his best locally brewed arak. Arak is a rice wine with about 30-35 % alcohol. Robert’s local produce is bottled in 0.5 litre PET bottles, costs about 1.50 Euro per bottle and tastes awful. Haha! I am sure it makes you drunk though, that’s if you manage to get it down.

Robert spent the evening with us, taught us magic drinks and refilled our beer glasses. He also organised the departure to Maumere for us.

Maumere, Flores

We were only in Maumere to take flights back to Lombok. Back to civilisation, really. We had not expected what a great time we would have.

We chose a local warung for dinner. Warungs are small family-owned restaurants in Indonesia. Warungs are an essential part of daily life in Indonesia.

That night, we met Novia. We quickly got on well. Novia gave herself and her staff the next day off to drive with us to nearby beaches and viewpoints. We ended the day at a night market where we ate incredible satay and soup. Again, we did not pay a single cent.

Why Not Today

The day will come when a stranger will ask us for help. We have the chance to make their day a little less stressful. Why not be nice. You might make their day! Be inspired by Indonesian hospitality.

Why not be nice to someone today? Give a stranger a compliment on their outfit. Offer your postman an apple. Pay for the food for the next customer behind you at the drive-in. Making someone else’s day better is the quickest way to make yourself feel good.

D

Thanks Mon for your help on this one!